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A Clean Tongue Means Fresh Breath

Posted April 13, 2018.

One of the best ways to keep your mouth clean and your breath fresh is to clean brush your teeth twice a day and floss once a day. That can keep your mouth free of the bacteria that constantly accumulate there. But are you also cleaning your tongue?

Don’t take it personally, but your tongue is home to millions of bacteria. It happens to all of us. The bacteria on your tongue can be a big part of your bad breath problem. So, you need to clean your tongue, but the question is how?

There are three ways. The first is with your toothbrush. The second is with a tongue brush. To brush your tongue, start at the back and gently scrub your way forward. Don’t forget to brush the sides of your tongue as well. You can also use a tool called a tongue scraper. A tongue scraper is a piece of plastic that you pull across your tongue, again, from front to back. As with a tongue brush, you should also scrape the sides of your tongue. You should clean your toothbrush, tongue brush or scraper before and after you use it, and rinse your mouth when you are done.

If you would like more information about keeping your tongue or how to keep any other part of your mouth clean, our dentist, Dr. Samantha Marley-Harrod will be happy to tell you more. If you live in the Edmond, Oklahoma area, you can make an appointment at The Smile Associates by calling 405-842-4646.